Good Charlotte’s Inspiring ‘Therapy’: ‘At Times We Doubted We Were Worth The Effort’

“When I think about all of our friends and our families, the most important thing to them about us is not our music. That's really nice,” Benji Madden begins, sitting alongside his brother Joel, as they discuss Good Charlotte’s upcoming Aussie shows with The Music.

They’ve been “warming up” for a massive world tour that kicks off Down Under next year by playing a handful of dates in support of their new album, Motel Du Cap.

“It's been the most fun we've ever had as a band. It's crazy,” Joel says of Good Charlotte’s recent gigs. “I didn't know what to expect, but it's super exciting.”

Returning to the band after an extended break, the duo has a newfound appreciation for it, and a large part of that is that they’re no longer under the same “pressure” they were when they were younger and just trying to buy their mum a house.

“I think you do get a lot of genuine moments out of that,” Benji tells. “You get a lot of genuine energy, but then it becomes a business, and then you're navigating that, and you don't want to let anyone down.

“It's a whole rollercoaster ride of trying to continue to succeed so that no one is disappointed in you. And then you have A&R people, and you have all this stuff, and no one gave you a handbook on how to manage all that.”

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The guitarist explains they were just trying to “survive it”.

“I think you get through your 30s, you get into your 40s, and you have kids, and you're married, and there's just way more important things,” he adds.

The band reconvened back in 2023 for a gig at Joel’s sister-in-law Sofia Richie’s wedding. The vibes were on-point, and Good Charlotte decided to hit the studio and see if they could “tap into that place where [they] feel shit and see what comes out”.

“The only point of it was just to play a few chords, start putting some vibes down and just see if you can start tapping into that place,” Benji explains. “It's like, God bless everyone out there, but we made this one for us, and it's really nice.

“The reaction has been really nice, but I always think we appreciate the moments when we're in an airport or when we're in a restaurant, and we have a real conversation with someone about music or a song within the fanfare.”

Joel reiterates there was “no master plan” surrounding their return, with the band having gone quiet after Generation Rx in 2018.

“We wanted to make a record we love,” he stresses. “And we didn't even know what we were going to do show-wise. There wasn't shows on the books. That's why everything has been rolling out in little batches, because we didn't have a world tour planned. And there still isn't a plan.”

Benji adds that if there is a plan, it’s “only do stuff we felt like we wanted to do”.

“Regardless of money or anything, respectfully, we've been saying no,” he shares. “Not in a mean way, but in a nice way, just saying, ‘This is just where we're at.’ And so everything that we do, we're excited about. And I think when you show up that way, people can feel it. You know what I mean?

“And so, I think that was the plan, though, Joel. We said, ‘Look, this time around we have to run at a rate that makes us not want to need a hiatus.’ Less is more. We can do a few things this year, we're going to do a handful of things next year, and every single one, we're going to try to make it feel special. All of a sudden, you feel like an artist again, and that's a really nice feeling. You feel like a kid.”

With Good Charlotte’s self-titled debut album celebrating its 25th anniversary this past September, you might assume that they’ve been reminiscing about the past, back to when they were “sweet kids” and just starting out, but the pair admit “anniversaries haven't really been big” for them.

And Benji reveals that he hasn’t listened to the record in “years and years and years”.

“I haven't heard that record in years, but I'll tell you, when I've heard moments of it, it does make me smile,” he enthuses. “We were really trying our best. I mean, initially, we were just trying to take care of our mum, and we were like, ‘Our best shot at music.’ Neither one of us is tall enough to make it to the MLB.

“When I do hear moments of that record, it used to be... I don't know… I was a little bit... my face would get red. But now I look back, and I go, ‘Those were some good kids, man. They were trying.’ And so, it's a sweet thing. I have to give that record a spin one of these days.”

“I don't know… I was just thinking,” Joel adds, “I feel like it used to be really painful for me to listen to that record because I remember being so excited, and we had no experience, so we didn't know what the music industry was. We didn't know what we were getting ourselves into.

“And then the years to follow, it was very difficult to navigate the bullshit of the music business, and it was painful for me because I thought I hit the lottery when I got a record deal. I thought all my troubles were over, and it was a moment of relief from the 18 years of fucking trouble and pain, and fucking turmoil that I had grown up in, because that's just the truth.

“You hear it on that record; we vomited it all over that record. It was such a relief to get a record deal. And we bought our mum a house, and we went on the road, and we started working our arses off. And then come the years of having a career and dealing with all this bullshit.

“But on the other side of that, now when I hear my brother talk about it, not that I had buried that record, I love that record, but I feel really good about it.”

Joel cites Motel Du Cap as one of the reasons he’s now able to look back on Good Charlotte and smile.

“On this side of it, you go, ‘Yeah, it is a career.’ You earn it, and you go through this stuff, and it is not for nothing,” he says. “This is how you become a fucking grown-up. This is how you know if you're made of the right stuff or not; if you're still a band on the other side of this, then you're meant to be a band. And if you still love each other on the other side of it... Well, then it's the real thing, and that's what I've discovered.”

Benji interjects, “We're lucky we had each other, and I think [Motel Du Cap] is a triumph for us because we made it for no other reason. You get your innocence completely taken in the music industry. You get robbed, you get fucking robbed blind. And it happens to you once. It happens to you twice. It happens to you three times.”

And that includes literally getting robbed. Back when Good Charlotte were first starting, before they had a record deal, they’d drive everywhere, and on their first trip to New York, the small-town boys learnt a hard lesson.

They had “everything” they owned in a little car they were living out of, “because we were in between places”, and it got broken into. Everything was taken, including their instruments.

“We just cried,” Benji recalls. “Literally, we had nothing, but we had the clothes on our backs. Listen, we had to learn. We didn't let it jade us. We didn't let it turn us into negative people. And we made a bunch of friends along the way.

“Now we can look back, and we have a career. We have really inspired businesses that we love. It's like, ‘We're not working. We're doing shit that we love.’”

Through their management company MDDN, which they established in 2014, they’re not only providing guidance to other artists through years’ worth of accumulated knowledge and experience, but they’re also surrounding themselves with people who inspire them, with Joel specifically making mention of Australia’s own Chase Atlantic.

“We’re looking at Chase Atlantic, or we're looking at Bad Omens, they're teaching us how to be a band,” he admits. “We're seeing inspiration, and we're seeing people who are not afraid. They don't give a fuck what anyone thinks. They're just going and doing their thing. What a time to be alive to see bands thriving again and doing it on their own terms.”

Good Charlotte’s new album features a number of collaborations and co-writes from artists they represent, resulting in an eclectic mix of songs, covering everything from heavy rock to country, and more. So, what are they looking for when welcoming someone into the MDDN family?

“That's a really good question because we've been trying to nail that down as well,” Joel says. “These artists have really sharp instincts. You couldn't talk them off their instincts. They just know who they are. Chase Atlantic are interesting because they've had the same attitude and instincts since they were teenagers, and we've worked together for 10 years. Now, they've expanded what they can do. They've grown in what they do. They've become more and more capable.

“They don't wait around for anyone to give them anything. They just go, and they get an idea. They start building it. And I think there's this instinct they have and this fearless kind of approach. They're not waiting around for someone to give them a record deal or to give them anything.

“And at the same time, they know who they are, and yet they're humble, sweet dudes you'd want to hang out with and actually have a beer with. They're very calm in it. They're very sure of it. So, it's interesting because it's a very subtle confidence and attitude they have.”

The pair both agree that they’re looking for artists who “make you check yourself when you see them on stage”.

“I'd say our live show is as big as it is now because of Architects, because of Bad Omens, because their shows are so big, and it's just natural for them. They create these shows,” Joel says.

“They're so creative. They make you check yourself and go, ‘What the fuck are we doing?’ And then you have to be creative. You can't buy that. You can't pay someone. You could pay someone, but it isn't going to be the same show.”

“It inspires you to put the effort in,” Benji adds. “They all believe that they're worth it. And so that's been amazing to watch because I think at times maybe we doubted that we were worth the effort. And so that's been a bit of therapy, if I'm being honest.

“We're really there to remind everyone to bet on themselves. Just as much as we get to mentor, we get so much out of it. We learn so much from getting to work with these incredible one-of-ones.”